How it Works

Webhook helps to save time and resources that would otherwise be spent in scaling up web systems. It is able to do this by giving you tools to break down complex integrations into simpler units.

An application is able to exchange data over the web through the use of a webhook URL. Actually, this webhook URL is provided by the receiving application the same way humans provide their phone numbers for receiving phone calls.

So when the caller dials the receiver's phone number and pressed the "send" button, the receiver's phone begins to ring out. You could say that the event that triggered the phone call was the caller pressing the "send" button.

However, data (known as payload) about an event is sent to the receiving application using either JSON or in XML format.

Why Use Webhooks?

Now that we have established what webhook is and how it works, let's look at reasons for using it. Webhooks aren't the only means through which apps are able to send and receive data. There are other ways of sharing data that have existed long before webhooks started becoming popular.

• Webhooks save you time that you would have spent in building complex applications and features to handle growth
• Webhooks offer a means of sharing data between any two apps in a simplified way. All that is needed to make this happen is for an event to occur and the payload is sent to the webhook URL of the receiving app
• The fact that webhook is growing in popularity and usage offers some benefits to current users. They are now able to communicate and share data with many other apps that have webhook integrations. Communication and data sharing increases proportionately with the increase in the number of Webhook users.